Take a moment and wax nostalgic…….a song from my youth…..ah the memories!
But in this case it is not some song from my past but rather a proposal from 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren……
She has a proposal to break-up giants like amazon, Google and Facebook……along the lines of the break-up of AT&T in the 1980s into regional entities……
Sen. Elizabeth Warren unveiled her plan for how to break up the nation’s technology behemoths on Friday.
The Democratic senator from Massachusetts, who’s seeking the Democratic nomination for president, laid out her proposal in a Medium post entitled “Here’s How We Can Break Up Big Tech.” In the post, Warren argued that it’s essential to crack down on the unfair market advantage enjoyed by Amazon, Facebook, and Google in order to boost competition and fuel innovation.
Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout praised the plan, calling it as a sign that a “new anti-monopoly movement is happening, and Warren is coming out swinging at the right targets!” Agreeing with Warren, she added, “The big tech monsters are conglomerates with too much power that they use to extract wealth and data from all us of us as if we are subjects in their feudal regimes.”
Personally, I like the idea…..but if her consumer protection agency from the 2000s is any indication this will nit go very far…….if the Senate does not crap on the proposal then the big money donors will chip away at it until it is just a shadow of the original proposal.
Elizabeth Warren wants a fair playing field in the marketplace—and she’s going after Big Tech to make it happen. “To restore the balance of power in our democracy, to promote competition, and to ensure that the next generation of technology innovation is as vibrant as the last, it’s time to break up our biggest tech companies,” she said in a statement Friday, per the New York Times. Her plan to bust up giants like Facebook, Google, and Amazon is a two-tiered one: First, large firms with annual global revenue of $25 billion or more that offer an online marketplace or other type of platform that connects third parties would have to “structurally separate” their products from that marketplace. What that means, for example, is that if you do a Google search for a restaurant, Google can’t give its own ratings priority over, say, Yelp’s, notes Vox.
The second tier—companies with annual revenue between $90 million and $25 billion—wouldn’t be subject to that same sort of product-marketplace separation, but they would have to adhere to certain fair-use regulations. Another big move Warren’s plan is pushing for: reversing some recent mergers that the 2020 presidential candidate says cut down down healthy competition, including Facebook’s acquisition of Instagram, as well as Amazon scooping up Whole Foods. This move, Warren says, “will put pressure on big tech companies to be more responsive to user concerns, including about privacy.” Critics commenting on Warren’s proposal fear such a plan could lead to the “weaponizing” of antitrust laws (lawmakers could go after companies they don’t like), per the Times, or reduce convenience for consumers, Ars Technica notes
This is fascinating……I want to see where it will go……I like it, as I have said…..this should have been done years ago…..
Yep my friends…that time again….your history lesson…..
Ever heard of Ned Ludd?
No?
How about the Luddites?
Luddites are those people that see a scary future in technology and mechanization……
On this day in 1811 Ned Ludd lead a wild protest against mechanization…….
“Luddite” is now a blanket term used to describe people who dislike new technology, but its origins date back to a 19th century labor movement that railed against the economic fallout of the Industrial Revolution. The original Luddites were British weavers and textile workers who objected to the increased use of automated looms and knitting frames. Most were trained artisans who had spent years learning their craft, and they feared that unskilled machine operators were robbing them of their livelihood. When their appeals for government aid and assistance were ignored, a few desperate weavers began breaking into factories and smashing textile machines. They called themselves “Luddites” after Ned Ludd, a young apprentice who was rumored to have wrecked a textile apparatus in the late-18th century. There’s no evidence Ludd actually existed—like Robin Hood, he was said to reside in Sherwood Forest—but he eventually became the mythical leader of the movement. The vandals claimed to be following orders from “General Ludd,” and they even issued manifestoes and threatening letters under his name.
The first major instances of machine breaking took place in 1811 in Nottingham, and the practice soon spread across the English countryside. Sledgehammer-wielding Luddites attacked and burned factories, and in some cases they even exchanged gunfire with company guards and soldiers. The workers hoped their raids would encourage a ban on weaving machines, but the British government instead moved to quash the uprisings by making machine breaking punishable by death. The unrest finally reached its peak in April 1812, when a few Luddites were gunned down during an attack on a mill near Huddersfield. The army rounded up many of the dissidents in the days that followed, and dozens were hanged or transported to Australia. By 1813, the Luddite resistance had all but vanished. It wasn’t until the 20th century that their name re-entered the popular lexicon as a synonym for “technophobe.”
Breaking News: Sorry to break with IST tradition and posting on the news of the day on weekends…but this is kinda important….
Before I begin I feel I must update my readers on the Christmas gift that Federal employees got yesterday…..
……a high-profile meeting was raising hopes that a government shutdown could be averted, reports Politico. Mike Pence, Jared Kushner, and acting Trump chief of staff Mick Mulvaney met with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer at the Capitol to try to forge a compromise on the president’s demand for $5 billion to build a border wall. “I’m feeling better now than I did an hour ago because that meeting is occurring,” said GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas. “The fact that that’s happening represents progress.”
The meeting comes after Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell rejected the idea of changing the Senate’s filibuster rules to push through a bill containing the border money with a simple majority, reports the Washington Post. President Trump had urged him to do so earlier in the day. A week ago, Trump said he would be “proud” to have a shutdown over the wall impasse, but on Friday he made a reversal of sorts, reports the Hill. “The Democrats now own the shutdown!” he tweeted. Late in the afternoon, the president also tweeted an image of what the barrier might look like: “A design of our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective while at the same time beautiful!”
Now the blame game begins but that will be little comfort to the many fed employees that were laid off just days before Christmas…..sadness given as a gift is pure pathetic theatrics.
Who will blink first?
Sorry for the interruption……..
Saturday and some things I read just make me laugh and then worry…..the way that we seem to give technology more and more power over our lives worries me.
As Christmas approaches there is always the dash for that perfect gift to slip under the tree for the whole family…..
Look under the tree……what is that little box with no name on it?
Echo, Google or Alexa?
The trend these days is to have your home wired so that the refrigerator gives you the time, your TV can start your car for you on cold days, and it goes on and on…..
Personally, I refuse to give my toilet the power to lock and unlock doors (humor not real)…..technology can be a wonderful thing….within limits….but beyond my dislike what could go wrong with speaking a command and your coffee maker turns on?
After a man in Germany contacted Amazon to request any a copy of any data the company had collected on him—his right under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, Gizmodo notes—he was surprised to receive 1,700 audio files in response. Why? Because he doesn’t use Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant that is used with its smart devices and that is known for listening in on people that use it. According to an article in Germany’s c’t magazine, the audio files (which were sent to the customer along with the data he likely expected—files relating to his Amazon searches) turned out to be recordings of a complete stranger, who used Alexa via his Amazon Echo, Fire box, smartphone, and smart appliances. The man also received a PDF transcript of the stranger’s recorded voice commands.
The customer says when he contacted Amazon about receiving data from someone else, no one responded, but the link to the data was disabled. He had already downloaded a copy of it, and got in touch with c’t. From the recordings, the magazine was able to locate the person whose data the man had received, and even identify the other man’s girlfriend. The man was “shocked” to find out his data had been sent to a stranger, and noted that Amazon had not alerted him to the breach. Amazon finally got in touch with both men only after being contacted by c’t. As the incident started making headlines, an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters, “This unfortunate case was the result of a human error and an isolated single case. We resolved the issue with the two customers involved and took measures to further optimize our processes. As a precautionary measure we contacted the relevant authorities.” The incident is one of multiple reasons Gizmodo recently published a post entitled, “You Should Return the Amazon Echo You Bought and Get a Better Gift.” (Alexa may play a role in a murder case.)
If I want the “Jones'” to know what goes on inside my house then I will invite them over for a chat.
I am sure some of my younger readers will be in favor of this technology and if they would like to defend please do so…I am open to the experience.
If you are going to be traveling on this holiday please drive safely and take care of yourself the flu is out there looking for a body to invade.
Another Saturday and we should look into our society for a few interesting pieces of knowledge…..
I would bet that the most used kitchen appliance these days is the microwave….am I right?
It is all so simple you take something out of the “Frig” and in just minutes you have a meal….how much simpler could it get?
WE are in the age of Google, Echo, Alexa, yada yada……you can turn over any function to a piece of technology…start your car, turn on your lights, lock your door and play music all by simply telling the air around you what you want to happen.
Got some amazing news the other day….about a microwave and a potato…..
Running out of things to do with Alexa? Don’t despair. Soon, you’ll be able to tell your Amazon personal assistant to heat a mug of water, defrost a chicken, or prepare some popcorn. It’s all thanks to the new AmazonBasics microwave that connects to Amazon’s Echo device so you can give it voice commands. The microwave was unveiled Thursday in Seattle, Engadget reports. The appliance will sell for $59.99 and will ship starting Nov. 14th, per The Verge, which calls it “a pretty dead-ahead 700W microwave.” It features many of the standard microwave buttons, but most of the cooking presets are voice activated (such as “Alexa, one potato,” a command used by Amazon’s David Limp a demonstration). You can also set it up to automatically order products from Amazon.
“What this microwave does is keep track of how many times you cook popcorn and make sure you never run out,” Amazon VP Daniel Rausch tells the Wall Street Journal. Also debuted on Thursday were other smart devices, such as an Echo for cars and a home security system, as well as improvements to Alexa like the abilities to whisper and hold conversations. It all adds up to Amazon’s push to “unite a scattered industry,” the WSJ notes. Through products like the new AmazonBasics microwave, the company hopes to get big manufacturers to use its Alexa-enabled chips affordable household appliances. As The Verge puts it: “The point is to wow gadget makers with how simple, secure, and easy it is to integrate its Alexa Connection Kit.”
But if I must choose my potato and put it into the Microwave why not hit the start button….that way I do not have to involve yet another piece of technology in the process of cooking a potato.
I am retired and have become extremely lazy after the broken leg and then the loss of toes….but as lazy as I am I am still capable of cooking a potato in the microwave without involving too many pieces of technology.
I may be old put I can still muster the energy to push a start button.
Is it any wonder that we are so obese? I mean we have to spend many dollars to get fit….when it is free to learn to do so much of this stuff for yourself.
A few years back I watched an episode of “Elementary” about a murder committed by drone…..and Sherlock was spied on by a drone the size of a mosquito……an excellent show but what are the chances that the drones will get that small?
I had to go to Google…..will drones get that small and could they be used against our own population for whatever reason?
The DARPA Robotics Challenge was a showcase for how very large, very expensive robots could potentially be useful in disaster recovery and high-risk environments. Humanoids are particularly capable in some very specific situations, but the rest of the time, they’re probably overkill, and using smaller, cheaper, more specialized robots is much more efficient. This is especially true when you’re concerned with data collection as opposed to manipulation—for the “search” part of “search and rescue,” for example, you’re better off with lots of very small robots covering as much ground as possible.
Yesterday, DARPA announced a new program called SHRIMP: SHort-Range Independent Microrobotic Platforms. The goal is “to develop and demonstrate multi-functional micro-to-milli robotic platforms for use in natural and critical disaster scenarios.” To enable robots that are both tiny and useful, SHRIMP will support fundamental research in the component parts that are the most difficult to engineer, including actuators, mobility systems, and power storage.
I am not much of a techno geek so I only post on the subject as an FYI or something new that has been released……
These are my two techno references…..
Some see the rise of AI as a rise of Skynet….but then there are attempts to prevent that from happening……
Thousands of artificial intelligence (AI) experts and developers have signed a pledge vowing to “neither participate in nor support the development, manufacture, trade, or use of lethal autonomous weapons,” and imploring governments worldwide to work together to “create a future with strong international norms, regulations, and laws” barring so-called killer robots.
More than 160 companies and groups from three dozen countries and 2,400 individuals from 90 countries are backing the pledge, which was developed by the Boston-based Future of Life Institute (FLI) and unveiled Wednesday during the annual International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) in Stockholm, Sweden.
Your fears are addressed…..then why do I not feel better?
Next…..we all run on GPS….our blue tooth, phones, tablets, etc and the world economy also runs on GPS and that should be changed……
Duke Buckner was enjoying his breakfast at the Renaissance Tel Aviv Hotel, looking out on the city marina, on the day that time stuttered. Buckner oversees marketing and business development for Microsemi Corp., an American communications and defense contractor, and he gets a copy of emailed error reports for its equipment. It’s rare to get more than one in a given day. But on the morning of Jan. 26, 2016, they flooded his inbox. He forgot about breakfast.
This is a subject that we all should be focused on….I mean we are here and doing our thing because of access of the internet….but recently with a new president the security of the internet has come into question…..I did write about it at the time….
Even Alexander Hamilton could teach us a thing or two about cyber security policy…..
In 1774, Alexander Hamilton posited that good policy consists of three ingredients: “First, that the necessity of the times require it. Secondly, that it be not the probable source of greater evils, than those it pretends to remedy. And lastly, that it have a probability of success.”
Though this Hamiltonian framework is useful for any policy discussion, it is a particularly good lens for the cyber realm, for it encourages policymakers to balance the expected effects and unintended consequences of a proposed policy; and to harmonize concerns over too little, or too much, government intervention.
There are a few Dem Senators that have put together a deal for the internet…….
Mandatory location verification. The paper suggests forcing social media platforms to authenticate and disclose the geographic origin of all user accounts or posts.
Mandatory identity verification: The paper suggests forcing social media and tech platforms to authenticate user identities and only allow “authentic” accounts (“inauthentic accounts not only pose threats to our democratic process…but undermine the integrity of digital markets”), with “failure to appropriately address inauthentic account activity” punishable as “a violation of both SEC disclosure rules and/or Section 5 of the [Federal Trade Commission] Act.”
Bot labeling: Warner’s paper suggests forcing companies to somehow label bots or be penalized (no word from Warner on how this is remotely feasible)
Define popular tech as “essential facilities.” These would be subject to all sorts of heightened rules and controls, says the paper, offering Google Maps as an example of the kinds of apps or platforms that might count. “The law would not mandate that a dominant provider offer the serve for free,” writes Warner. “Rather, it would be required to offer it on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms” provided by the government.
Other proposals include more disclosure requirements for online political speech, more spending to counter supposed cybersecurity threats, more funding for the Federal Trade Commission, a requirement that companies’ algorithms can be audited by the feds (and this data shared with universities and others), and a requirement of “interoperability between dominant platforms.”
If you are still interested in this deal then go to the paper ……..Titled “Potential Policy Proposals for Regulation of Social Media and Technology Firms,” the draft policy paper
It is Sunday and I have read something that gives me a small glimmer of hope in our future……first a little background…..
Every time I see a “building boom” I think of the wood being used……why can we not with our technical know how come up with a more efficient way to build a home?
Not long ago I read about an engineer in Western Sahara that was building homes for refugees out of plastic water bottles…..
As the sun rises on the Sahara desert, Tatah Lehbib begins his 2.8-mile walk to the garbage landfill just outside of the Sahrawi refugee camp, where he finds the long-sought treasure to help his people endure living in one of the most inexorable places on Earth: plastic bottles.
That is a great way to use all those damn water bottles that we as humans make everyday……then I read another good piece about using plastic bricks to build homes……
Conceptos Plásticos is a Colombian construction company that builds homes, shelters, classrooms, and community spaces out bricks and pillars made entirely from recycled plastic, rubber, and electronic waste. The company was founded by Oscar Mendez, an architect, and Fernando Llano, who had previously researched the reuse of plastics as building materials to create “ecoblocks.” This business venture intends to address three major issues: affordable housing, jobs for vulnerable communities, and reuse of materials that would otherwise end up in landfills.
The base material for these homes are gathered from local recyclers resulting in a reduction of water and energy consumption. By reusing plastics, the company is able to divert materials that otherwise would take 500 years to biodegrade from being dumped in landfills. This plastic is ground into a rough powder then melted and poured into a mold that creates stackable bricks or “ecoblocks” that can be put together in a Lego-like fashion to build walls, roofs, and decks that are insulated as well as earthquake- and fire-resistant. Simple assembly and disassembly make for homes that are easily relocated, making them useful for temporary housing of refugees, homeless people, or military personnel.
Humans are making great use of technology to find and use materials made from recycled goods……and then I read about a home built using a 3D printer……
While using basic technology may still cause daily grief for some, the industry is moving in leaps and bounds, with progress being made in alternative, and somewhat surprising, domains.
With these advances in technology and the advent of 3D printing, it has now become possible to print a building – a development that’s caused a stir in the construction business for various reasons, including potential disruptions in multiple global supply chains.
I was watching an episode of “Elementary” about a murder committed by a drone….there was even these nano drones that were used to spy on Holmes….as small as a mosquito…..made me think that drones are getting smaller but how small?
FLIR Systems Inc. will supply the Army with its next-generation nano drone, the company recently announced.
A $2.6 million order has been made for the first shipment of the Black Hornet 3 as part of the Soldier Borne Sensor program.
The drone took seven years to develop, Ole Aguirre, FLIR director of unmanned aerial systems strategy and government affairs, said June 7 in an interview.
The system weighs only 32 grams, and can fly at speeds up to 21 kilometers per hour for up to 2 kilometers, he said.
A new Sunday and cool weather…the garden has gone down until Spring….about the only thing to do is stay warm and read the news…..
An IST FYI report…….
There are new threats to computers……and they are a bitch……
Security experts worldwide are melting down over Meltdown and feeling haunted by Spectre. Those are the names security researchers have given two massive, newly discovered security flaws that affect central processing units at the chip level, meaning nearly all computers are at risk no matter what kind of operating system they run, TechCrunch reports. The bugs, discovered by researchers from Google’s Project Zero team and independent other teams, exploit flaws in computer architecture that make it possible for malicious software to steal information from other programs, according to a website set up by researchers to explain them. The researchers had planned to wait until fixes were available next week before disclosing the flaws, but they released them early after a tech site revealed the vulnerabilities, the AP reports.
The flaws differ in some ways: Meltdown, which breaks through barriers protecting computer memory, affects only Intel chips and works in a way that makes cloud computing especially vulnerable, while the Spectre technique, which is harder to exploit but can trick other applications into revealing information, affects just about everything with any sort of chip in it. Analysts say a patch for Meltdown could slow CPUs down by up to 30%, while there is no known fix for Spectre, which could require a major chip redesign. Researcher Paul Kocher, part of the team that discovered the flaws, tells the New York Times that focusing on improving speed in new chips resulting in design flaws. “We’ve really screwed up,” he says. “There’s been this desire from the industry to be as fast as possible and secure at the same time. Spectre shows that you cannot have both.”
Be careful on your ‘puter…..otherwise enjoy your weekend and I will see you guys tomorrow…..chuq
